The present invention relates generally to trailer vehicles utilized in material handling applications, and more particularly, to steering apparatus for turning the vehicle. Wheeled trailer vehicles are commonly used in manufacturing, retailing, warehousing, and other activities in which materials and goods must be moved. Normally, these trailer vehicles are hitched together to form a train that is pulled by an industrial truck between locations. When a train formed of these vehicles is pulled through a corner, however, each vehicle tends to travel through a more sharply defined arc than the arc through which the preceding trailer traveled, thereby causing the train to cut the corner. This cutting of the corner problem limits the number of trailer vehicles that can be hitched together in a single train resulting in increased material handling effort and cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,029, issued to Hutchinson on Apr. 20, 1954, discloses a trailer vehicle having a steering system which enables a plurality of hitched trailer vehicles to travel through a curved path without cutting the corner. The steering system in this patent, however, consists of links for connecting the tow bar to the front wheel assemblies. These links are subjected to compressive forces as the vehicle is turned which may result in their failure due to buckling. One way to minimize buckling of the links is to use stronger but heavier links. The use of heavy links clearly increases the cost of the vehicle and their use increases the weight of the vehicle which may be undesirable.
It is the object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved steering system for a trailer vehicle.